Baalbek is pleasantly situated on the lowest decliv- ity of Anti-Libanus, at the opening of a small valley
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i;:ii:i-' nf Haalbek.
into the plain El-Bekaa. Through this valley runs a small stream, divided into numberless rills for irri- gation. The place, according to the determination of Maj. Rennell (Geogr. of W. Asia, i, 75), is in N. hit. 34° 1 80", and E. long. 36° 11', distant 109 geog. miles from Palmyra, and 082 from Tripoli. Its origin appears to be lost in the most remote antiquity, and the historical notices of it are very scanty ; the silence of the classical writers respecting it would alone, seem to imply that it had previously existed under another name. In the absence of more positive information, we can only conjecture that its situation on the high- road of commerce between Tyro, Palmyra, and the farther East, must have contributed largely to the wealth and magnificence which it manifestly attained. It is mentioned under the name of Heliopolis by Jo- scphus (Ant. xiv, 3, 4), and also by Pliny (Hist. Nat. v. 22). Two Roman inscri] tions of the time of Anto- ninus Pius give sanction to the statement of John of Antioch, who alleges that this emperor built a great temple to Jupiter at Heliopolis, which was one of the wonders of the world (Hist. Citron, lib. xi). From the reverses of Roman coins we learn that Heliopolis was constituted a colony by Julius Caesar; that it was the seat of a Roman garrison in the time of Augustus, and obtained tho Jus Italicum from Scverus (Ulpian, It. Censibus,ff). Some ofthe coins oflater date con- 4- tain curious representations of the temple (Acker- man, Rom. Coins, i, 339). After the age of Constan- tine the splendid temples of Baalbek were prob- ably consigned to neglect and decay, unless, in- deed, as some appearances indicate, they were then consecrated to Christian worship (see Chron. Pasch. p. 303, id. 1'i.ilin; comp. Sozomen, Hist. Eccles. v, 10; Theodoret, Hist, Eccles. iii, 7; iv, 22). From the accounts of Oriental writers Baalbek seems to have continued a place of importance down to the time of the Moslem invasion of Syria (see Am- mian. Marcell. xiv, 8). They describe it as one of the nmst splendid of Syrian cities, enriched with stately palaces, adorned with monuments of ancient times, and abounding with trees, foun-
iri I whatever contributes to luxurious enjoy- ment (D'Herbelot, Biblwth. Or. s. v.). On the ad- vance ofthe Moslems, it was reported to the Emperor Heraclius as protected by a citadel of great Btrength, and well able to sustain a siege. After tho capture of Damascus it was regularly invested by the Mos- lems, and, eont lining an overflowing population, am- ply supplied With provisions and military stores, it nurageous defence, but at length capitulated. !t- invtortance at that period is attested by the ran-
som exacted by the conquerors, consisting of 2f 00 ounces of gold, 4000 ounces of silver, 2000 silk vests, and 1000 swords, together with the arms ofthe garri- son. It afterward became the mart for the rich pil- lage of Syria ; but its prosperity soon received a fatal blow from the caliph of Damascus, by whom it was sacked and dismantled, and the principal inhabitants put to the sword (A.D. 748). During the Crusades, being incapable of making any resistance, it seems to have quietly submitted to the strongest. In the ye;.r 1400 it was pillaged by Timour Beg, in his ingress to Damascus, after he had taken Aleppo. Aftcrwurd it fell into the hands of the Mctawcli— a barbarous predatory tribe, who were nearly exterminated when Djezzar Pasha permanently subjected the whole dis- trict to Turkish supremacy. In 1750 an earthquake completed the devastation already begun 1 y Moham- medan vandalism.
The ruins of Heliopolis lie on an eastern branch of the mountain, and are called, by way of eminence, tho Castle. The most prominent objects visible from the plain are a lofty portico of six columns, part of the great temple, and the walls and columns of another smaller temple a little below, surrounded by green
Octagonal Temple at Baalbek, trees. There is also a singular temple of nearly cir- cular form. These, with a curious column on the highest point within the walls (winch may possibly have been a clepsydra, or water-dial), form the only erect portions ofthe ruins. These ruins have been so often and so minutely described by scores of travel- lers, as well as in many works of general reference, that, since their identification as a Scriptural site is uncertain, a few additional observations only may suffice. The ruins of Baalbek in the mass are eppar-
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ently of three successive eras : first, the gigantic hewn stones, in the face of the platform or basement on which the temple stands, and which appear to be re- mains of older buildings, perhaps of the more ancient temple which occupied the site. Among these are at least twenty standing upon a basement of rough stones, which would be called enormous anywhere but here. These celebrated blocks, which in fact form th-3 great wonder of the place, vary from 30 to 40 feet in length; but there are three, forming an upper course 20 feet from the ground, which together meas- ure 190 feet, being severally of the enormous dimen- sions of 63 and 64 feet in length, by 12 in breadth and thickness (Addison's Damascus and Palmyra, ii, 55). "They are," says Richter (Wallfuhrlen, p. 281), "the largest stones I have ever seen, and might of them- selves have easily given rise to the popular opinion that Baalbek was built by angels at the command of Solomon. The whole wall, indeed, is composed of immense stones, and its resemblance to the remains of the Temple of Solomon, which are still shown in the foundations of the, mosque Es-Sakkara on Mount Mori- ah, cannot fail to be observed.'' This was also point- ed out by Dr. Richardson. In the neighboring quar- ries (q. v.) from which the}- were cut, one stone, hewn out but not carried away, is of much larger dimensions than any of those which have been mentioned. To the second and third eras belong the Roman temples, which, being of and about the time of Antoninus Pius, present some of the finest specimens of Corinthian architecture in existence, and possess a wonderful grandeur and majesty from their lofty and imposing